Team news we've pulled from the team news wires: Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins returns to the matchday squad for the first time since December as caretaker boss Chris Hughton fields an unchanged side against Everton.

The Nigeria international is named among the substitutes following his recovery from hernia surgery, and will sit alongside Mark Viduka and Alan Smith on the bench.

But with manager Joe Kinnear continuing his recovery from a triple heart bypass at home following his release from hospital yesterday, the Magpies keep faith with the 11 men who secured a first victory in seven Premier League games at West Brom last time out.

Everton boss David Moyes is forced to make changes with Tim Cahill and Tony Hibbert both suspended, and that meant starts for Joseph Yobo at the back and Jo in attack.

How they stand: A win for Everton will leave them in sixth place, eight points clear of Wigan Athletic in seventh. Three points for Newcastle would send them zooming three places up the table to 12th, ahead of Bolton Wanderers on goal difference.

How they'll line-up: Expect Newcastle to play a bogstandard 4-4-2 with Shola Ameobi and Peter Lovenkrands sharing striking duties up front. Everton look set to play 4-5-1, with Victor Anicchebe and Dan Gosling getting up in support of lone frontman Jo from the right and left wings respectively. Exciting, eh? Eh?

And they're off Everton kick-off and the ball Joseph Yobo immediately concedes a throw in with a terrible pass.

1 min: Dan Gosling picks up the ball in the left channel, cuts inside along the edge of the penalty area and tries his luck. His low drive is pulled wide of the left upright.

2 min: There's some seriously bad hairdos on show on the St James's Park sward this afternoon, with Jo and Fabrizio Coloccini being the main offenders, what with Mario Fellaini currently confined to the Everton bench.

3 min: Mikel Arteta goes down hurt after a challenge with, I think, Ryan Taylor. He immediately signals to the bench that something is awry. It doesn't look good for the Spaniard. He's either pulled a groin muscle or damaged a knee.

5 mins: Everton's best player, Arteta, leaves the pitch on a stretcher and is replaced by the Ecuadorian, Segundo Castillo.

7 min: More panic for Everton fans when Jack Rodwell goes down holding his knee after a shocking Ryan Taylor challenge that went unpunished by the referee. The Newcastle midfielder flew in over the top and crunched Rodwell's knee with his own. Luckily for Everton, it seems like their young tyro is OK.

9 min: Throw-in. Kick-out. Foul. Physios on. Physios off. Misplaced pass. The match hasn't had much of a chance to settle down into any sort of rhythm yet and those two early injuries haven't helped.

12 mins: Everton fan Gary Naylor is here with his reaction to Ryan Taylor's challenge on Jack Rodwell. "If that's not a straight red card, nothing is. Some refs are just cowards," he writes.

13 min: A Newcastle free-kick is sent sailing into the Everton penalty area, where Phil Jagielka eventually hoofs clear under pressure from Shola Ameobi.

15 min: Grim, grim news for Everton and their supporters - according to Sky's Shreeves On The Touchline, Mikel Arteta has injured his knee ligaments, which almost certainly means his club will have to push for a top four finish without his input.

17 min: This is terribly scrappy stuff.

18 min: Everton advance up the field, throw-in by throw-in until they win a corner. The crowd is so silent you can hear the players shouting at each other, but that all changes when the corner is swung in and Joseph Yobo brings an excellent save out of Steve Harper with a glancing near-post header.

20 min: Jagielka volleys wide for Everton from a narrow angle after ghosting into the Newcastle penalty area under a high crossfield ball.

22 min: Newcastle goalkeeper Harper dashes off his line, out of his area and just beats Jo to a through-ball. That was close.

23 min: From just outside his own penalty area, Kevin Nolan pings a 60-yard pass out towards the left flank for Shola Ameobi to chase. There's only going to be one winner in the race to the touchline - Everton throw-in.

25 min: Such is the high octane on-pitch excitement that Sky have taken to broadcasting lingering close-ups of Alan Smith and Obafemi Martins on the Newcastle substitute's bench. There's no sign of Mark Viduka, however. Maybe the camera-man left his extra wide lens at home.

28 min: Everton corner. The ball is swung in from the left quadrant and Jack Rodwell goes close with a volley at the far post. It took a combination of upright and Steven Taylor to keep the ball out of the goal.

30 min: A terrible, terrible, terrible miss by Peter Lovenkrands. Newcastle carved Everton open down the centre and a beautiful dummy from Shola Ameobi ensured that the ball came to Lovenkrands, who was clean through on goal with all the time in the world to pick his spot and only Tim Howard to beat. The Dane deliberated at great length before slotting his left-footed drive past Howard and wide of the left upright from all of 12 yards.

33 min: "Great! So we get an Everton fan and a Sunderland fan's thoughts on Newcastle v Everton," writes Steve Jackson. "Thank you Guardian once again for your even-handed coverage of Newcastle United."

34 min: Newcastle win a free-kick after Joleon Lescott handles just outside the D on the edge of the Everton penalty area. Ryan Taylor stands over the ball, then sends a dipping shot over the crossbar.

38 min: It's Newcastle's turn to go close. The ball is pinged into the Everton penalty area from the left touchline and Shola Ameobi and Joseph Yobo contest the header. The Newcastle striker gets more purchase on his header, but the Everton centre-half gets just enough on the ball to concede a corner.

40 min: Free kick for Newcastle on the left hand side of the field about 10 yards outside the penalty area. The ball is swung into the penalty area and ends up in the back of the net alongside Tim Howard and Newcastle defender Sebastien Bassong, who pushed the Everton goalkeeper in there. I think it was Ameobi who finally poked it in from close range, but no referee in the world is going to give that goal.

43 min: Kevin Nolan gets sent off for a brutal tackle on Victor Anichebe. That really was horrific. He dived in on the Everton striker's shin with both feet and could easily have broken his leg. Amazingly, Anichebe is able to get to his feet and hobble to the sideline for treatment.

45 min: Anichebe limps back on to the field to a chorus of boos from the home fans. When they see replays of Nolan's tackle they'll know the referee had no option but to send him off. It was a horrible challenge.

45+3 min: I'm not sure how much injury time there's going to be, but it could be anything up to 10 minutes after the injuries to Arteta, Rodwell and Anichebe.

45+5 min: Ten-man Newcastle go forward, with Nicky Butt calling the shots. Lovenkrands picks up the ball on the left wing and pings a chest-high cross in towards Shola Ameobi. Joseph Yobo grabs a handful of the Newcastle striker's shirt and holds on for dear life.

45+7 min: Everton substitution: Victor Anichebe limps to the sidelines and is replaced by Marouane Fellaini. Fabrizio Coloccini and Jo are no longer the joint favourites for the Most Preposterous On-field Barnet Award.

45+8 min: It's half-time.

Kevin Nolan update: According to Geoff Shreeves, Nolan was waiting for Victor Anichebe when he limped down the tunnel and apologised profusely for the studs-up tackle that ended both their interest in the game. Apparently Nolan admitted his tackle was late and apologised for it, but insisted he didn't mean to hurt Anichebe. Shreeves said the Everton striker seemed happy with this explanation and shook Nolan's hand.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that Debbie Reynolds is not a Newcastle fan. "Newcastle have lost the last sympathy of any neutral fan on the back of this performance," she writes. "What a grubby outfit ... just a bunch of cloggers trying to hack their way to a single point. I hope they're relegated so they can mix up it in the Championship - their apparent natural level." Steve Jackson (33 min) won't like that stinging missive.

In an email entitled "outrageous slander", Duncan Smith writes: "Fellaini is the second coming of Carlos Valderama," he writes. "A modern day Samson whose performances get stronger as his hair grows wider. What Delilah would dare intervene?"

Injured Everton players updates: Victor Anichebe is lucky to have suffered nothing worse than bruising on his shin, while Mikel Arteta is in a car on his way to hospital for a scan on the ligament damage in his knee. There'll be plenty of Everton fans on tenterhooks awaiting the outcome of that trip to the hospital. Losing Arteta for the rest of the season would be terrible for them.

48 min: From the edge of the penalty area, Joseph Yobo sends a surface-to-air screamer fizzing inches over the Newcastle crossbar. I think Harper might have touched it over, but if he did the referee didn't notice.

49 min: Courtesy of their half-time substitute Gutierrez, Newcastle win a free-kick in the final third, wide on the left. The ball is sent in to the penalty area, Howard flaps before Gutierrez tries and fails to capitalise on the unconvincing clearance.

51 min: Enrique crosses brilliantly from the left, forcing Joleon Lescott, inside his own six-yard box, to dink his attempted clearance straight up into Tim Howards arms. Was it a backpass? The Newcastle fans certainly think so, but the refereee doesn't agree.

53 min: Gutierrez has been excellent since coming on, motoring up and down the left-flank, driving his team forward. He's contributed a lot more to the Newcastle cause in nine minutes than the man he replaced did in 45.

55 min: They may be down to 10 men, but Newcastle are definitely having the better of the second half so far. The crowd are getting behind them now too, having been fairly lethargic throughout first.

58 min: Everton win their fourth corner of the game. Seventeen-year-old Dan Gosling sends the ball into the mixer, but puts too much welly on it and makes it easy for Jose Enrique to hoof clear.

59 min: Some much-needed balance, to keep Steve Jackson (33 min) happy. "Without wanting to be too pesimistic, we've put out a team capable of stopping the other team playing, capable of conceding soft goals, and simply unable to create chances without the aid of the opposition switching off," writes Newcastle fan Richard F. "Our next home games are against Man U, Chelsea and Arsenal. Why isn't Guttierez starting and why isn't Viduka starting despite being able to play against West Brom two weeks ago? That we're resorting to backs against the wall at half time against an injury laden side is nothing short of an abomination."

63 min: The camera pans to Peter Beardsley, a legend among both sets of fans, for a lingering close-up. Surely there must be one attractive woman in the ground the cameraman could turn his gaze on, as is customary?

65 min: "I notice that there is a lot of hoofing going on, is there any other way to clear it?" asks Kieran Burns. Apologies for that Kieran, but I left my brain, complete with my vocabulary, at home in the jar today and am unable to come up with a wider variety of verbs. There is a hell of a lot of hoofing going on in this game, which is hardly a huge surprise considering the teams involved. Much of this hoofing is being done in the general direction of Obafemi Martins, who has been fruitlessly chasing one aimless hoof after another since coming on.

69 min: Marouane Fellaini fouls Jonas Gutierrez with what looked like a sly elbow in the crown jewels and concedes a free-kick halfway inside the Newcastle half. Steve Harper takes the free-kick and sends the latest wayward "hoof" straight into the stand. That's dreadful.

71 min: Marouane Fellaini gets on the end of a good cross into the Newcastle penalty area and knocks the ball down to ... nobody ... because there are no other Everton players in the Newcastle penalty area. Why are there no other Everton players in the Newcastle penalty area? I really couldn't tell you. Not only have they not pressed home their one-man advantage, they haven't really come close to doing so.

73 min: Everton substitution: Dan Gosling off, Louis "Sick note" Saha on. Moments before the substitution, a sloppy pass from Joleon Lescott giufted possesssion to Obafemi Martins in midfield. He played the ball forward for Jonas Guttierez to chase, but the Argentina winger shoots high and wide with a diagonal effort.

77 min: Everton get their first attempt on target in the second half, when Jo heads gets on the end of a Rodwell cross but heads straight at Steve Harper.

78 min: My thanks to those of you who've written in to inform me that Alan Smith replaced Peter Lovenkrands. Now please stop writing in to inform me that Alan Smith replaced Peter Lovenkrands. Ma inbox cannae take the strain.

80 min: Nicky Butt trudges to the sideline to await clearance to return to the game after getting treatment for what looks like cramp. If he doesn't shake it off, Newcastle could find themselves down to nine men for the last 10 minutes.

82 min: A lazy backpass from Steven Taylor forces Steve Harper to rush off his line and hack a clearance into the stand under pressure from assorted Evertonians. Newcastle get away with it, but only just.

84 min: "David Moyes is sporting a pretty expensive-looking watch in that picture," writes Samuel Baker. "I mean, I'm sure he's not short of a few bob so it shouldn't be much of a surprise, but it still looks out of place on a man that looks like he subsists on tap water and dry oatcakes."

86 min: While there's no huge shame in failing to beat 10-man Newcastle, Everton have created so little in the way of goalscoring opportunities that they don't really deserve anything more than a point out of this game. If nobody scores in the next five minutes or so, Everton will view this as two points dropped, while Newcastle will be fairly happy with a point under the circumstances.

88 min: Fellaini gets booked - I know not why. Then Everton win a free-kick which Phil Jagielka wastes by shooting high and wide from distance.

89 min: There'll be three minutes of additional punishment. Woin't somebody please think of the children and serve up a late winner? There's a crediut crucnch on but thousands of people have paid their own money to sit in the cold and watch this rubbish.

90+2 min: There's no urgency about Everton's players at all. If today's performance is anything to go by, without Arteta they're going to be decidedly ordinary.

Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeeeeeeep!That's yer lot, it's all over - Everton and Newcastle take a point each. Both sets of players look happy enough with the outcome, while Kevin Nolan is now suited, booted and standing in the tunnel apologising to any passing Evertonians for his first half folly. It was a shocking tackle that got him sent off, but he seems fairly contrite, so fair play to him for saying he's sorry. Click here to see what effect today's results have had on the Premier League table. Go on, click it!